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Corvette (capital ship)
Corvettes, or more formally Capital Corvettes, are a category of warship in common use with all known spacefaring races. Generally smaller than destroyer escorts, corvettes are the smallest category of "Leviathan Warships"; with power outputs between 10,000 and 15,000 units, they in fact overlap with the more commonly known "Patrol Corvettes", which are, at their heart, simply supersized fighter craft. Advantages Unlike their smaller 'patrol' siblings, Capital Corvettes offer several significant advantages that simply cannot be overlooked: # Endurance - the larger "leviathan-grade" engine designs are intrinsically more fuel efficient than the fighter-grade engines used in patrol corvettes. Combined with larger fuel storage facilities, this allows for vastly improved thrust times, which is an advantage in both battle and transit. # Advanced Power Allocation - unlike patrol corvettes, capital corvettes do not have to micromanage power between weapons, shields, thrust and life support, maintaining maximum capability throughout battle. Additionally, capital corvettes have the option of shunting extra power from the weapons to the thrust units or vice-versa, doubling one at the expense of the other; something the smaller ships cannot do. # Weapons - capital corvettes are not limited to the turret-mounted weapons of their smaller cousins; they can mount a respectable point defense turret array as well as respectably large laser bays that can easily outclass anything a lesser ship can mount. # Versatility - No matter how well-designed, there are practical limits to the cargo capacity of patrol-class vessels; capital corvettes can be built to carry tens of thousands of tons of cargo without undue effect on overall performance. Additionally, capital corvettes can carry a significant number of small craft in addition to up to six fighter bays. # Performance - Given the different principles behind fighter-grade engines and leviathan-grade engines, a capital corvette will almost invariably have greater acceleration than a patrol corvette of the exact same tonnage. Uses Every TOG world with even the smallest shipyard can produce capital corvettes without resorting to advanced fighter construction technology. Most capital corvettes serve as transports for Legion assets, with another significant percentage serving as planetary revenue cutters. A few serve in Battleship Squadrons or Groups, but the hold of the Cingulum and the Pharetra keeps these numbers low. The Republican Navy and Royal Commonwealth Navy also use them as Battalion-level transports, but unlike the TOG Navy, uses them as consorts for escorts and destroyers. Free Naram naval forces make extensive use of capital corvettes as essential aspects of their doctrine, forming flotillas or strike forces for everything from planetary defense to deep-raiding. KessRith make extensive use of a select few designs as status symbols; a clan that can build one (not just capture one) demonstrates that it is powerful enough to belong to the highest tier of the clan structure; if they survive the intrigue that inevitably follows, they will usually build a half-dozen or so before abandoning corvette construction in favor of more powerful classes. Free Traders make extensive use of this class as merchantmen, forgoing the heaviest armament in favor of cargo tonnage and small craft bays. Ship Designations Given the wide range of purposes (military and civilian) of this category of vessel, many different hull designators are used: * DK - this is the standard hull designation used in the TOG Navy and the Republican Navy * KK - This is the standard hull designation used by the Royal Commonwealth Navy * RC - Revenue Cutter - TOG planetary and provincial fleets make extensive use of this designation. * K - Corvette; common designation for unclassified military ships of this class. TOG Uses this designation for non-FTL planetary defense cutters in enemy forces (TOG does not have such ships). Ship Classes TOG Republican Navy Royal Commonwealth Navy Free Naram Forces KessRith * Khovett (clanship) Free Traders * Merquader (merchantman) Category:A to Z Index Category:Ships Category:Naval Category:Corvettes